Ethereum and Bitcoin Price Plunge as ETH Options Contracts Expire

On June 25, over $1.5 billion of Ether (ETH$3.3 )’s billion notional open interest (OI) in ETH options will expire, making it the highest options expiry ever. Over 638,000 ETH options contracts are due to expire in June, representing 45 percent of total open interest in these options. A slew of options expired on the last Friday of May, causing the market to plummet. 

Bitcoin options for 83,700 BTC (approximately $2.6 billion) and Ethereum options worth 685,000 BTC (about $1.5 billion) expired today. For Ethereum, this is a new high for the number of options contracts expiring in a single day. And both assets are in decline, implying that traders choose to sell.

However, the market was already having difficulties. Bitcoin dipped below $30,000 for the first price since January on Tuesday. Ethereum price also fell below $2,000 for the first time. The drop has a lot of causes, but China is one of them: China’s central bank warned five of the country’s largest banks, as well as payments platform Alipay, to stop performing crypto-related business this week. 

Bitcoin received a significant rejection at $35,000, and after failing to break through resistance at that level, it went toward support around $31,500. It might return to $35,000 if this support holds. At the moment, most coins on the market, such as ether, are closely tied to BTC/USD.

Holders of call options contracts can buy Ethereum at a predetermined price on the expiration date. While holders of put options contracts can sell Ether at a similar price. Call options are typically used to augment bullish tactics, while put options are employed as hedges against the underlying unfavorable price moves.